One of the most common causes of lower back pain is mechanical in its origin. Caused by lifting or twisting in the wrong way, the small joints of the spine can move to cause irritation and inflammation. This results in tension in surrounding muscles as they try to guard and stabilise the area. This can happen in all regions of the spine, from the low back right up to the neck.
One type of pain can be better described as sciatic pain. Sciatica is a set of symptoms that can be caused by compression and/or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that together form the sciatic nerve, left and right. There also may be difficulty in moving the leg or foot, numbness, weakness of the muscles, tingling or pins and needles. The pain can be felt in the lower back, parts of the legs or foot, and/or even the buttock. Sciatica is a set of symptoms consequential to disrupting the nerve and causing pain. Treatment for sciatica or sciatic symptoms is based upon the underlying cause of the symptoms in each case, eg lumbar nerve compression or Piriformis muscle pinching the nerve deep in the gluteal area.
